Be Realistic Ask the Impossible: No Pain, No Gain. But Where's My Bike?

Wow... 2 weeks since my last post and all change. Be Realistic Demand The Bare Minimum might be a better title for this at the moment!

After battling snow, ice and a stinking cold over Christmas and New Year I've just moved down to London as of Tuesday and have been sans turbo and bikes for almost a week now. Frustrating doesn't even cover it. And I never got that goodbye ride due to massively underestimating how much I had to do before I left ;(

The bikes are absent due to using a really half-arsed online shipping agent (Parcel2WhyThe$**£EvenBother) instead of paying through the nose for Royal Fail's premium service, who jauntily took my money to ship both fixed and geared bikes down here and have since failed to so much as feign interest in fulfilling the promise.

The turbo was rapidly disintegrating anyway (brittle bits of plastic flying off mid-acceleration I kid you not!) so didn't get packed as its milder down here and I thought I'd be able to get out more... how wrong I be! So I now won't be able to get my bikes and associated paraphenalia till next monday, and I'm on the hunt for a cheap 2nd hand turbo if anyone can oblige? ;/

Massively pissed off and frustrated as I can feel any good work done on the turbo trickling away, and every day without it seems like a missed opportunity to claw myself a mm closer to becoming that ideal me that will smoothly spin to top of the Alpe fuelled by nothing but stale baguette washed down with tears and some raw courage as a digestif...

Getting to grips with London, new house, new job has been a handful in itself and having been here almost a week it is almost as daunting a prospect as when I arrived. Wee sleepy Glasgow seems like cycling paradise in comparison and I'm definitely not looking forward to having to contend with the volume of traffic on the roads here so will need to grow a thicker skin-white van man and black cabs seem to be a very conspicuous part of the urban commuting habitat ... When I get more settled I will try to find a local cycle club that will be able to initiate me into some local jaunts along some more tranquil routes and make my training a bit more social. Regardless I need to get down to business quick and get into a good training routine or I'm doomed, doomed I tell you...

So, that's it for now... I'm off to gaze forlornly at my Christmas read 'The Tour is Won on the Alpe' and dream of the day next week when I can get out on the blooming road again!

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RuthF28[101 posts]7 years ago

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Sympathy! I do hope you manage to get out there soon. I've been following your blog with interest and really would like to see you complete, as it's not something I would be prepared to tackle.